Andranik Eskandarian (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

: , fa, آندرانیک اسکندریان, born 31 December 1951) is an

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. He played as a defender for the

F.C. Ararat Tehran FC Ararat ( fa, آرارات تهران, ''Ârarat Tehran'') is an Armenian diaspora football team based in Tehran, Iran who play in the Tehran Province League. Ararat football club is the football club of the multisport Ararat Club in Iran. ...

Taj SC Esteghlal Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال استقلال, ''Bâšgâh-è Futbâl-è Esteqlâl''), commonly known as Esteghlal ( fa, استقلال, meaning 'The Independence'), is an Iranian football club based in capital Tehran th ...

and

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

of the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

. He won the Iranian league in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and reached the second place in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. Further he won the

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (Jām-e Hazfi; ) is the Iranian football knockout cup competition, run by the Iranian Football Federation. The Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, hence the winner of Hazfi Cup represented Iran in the Asian Club Cha ...

in 1977. He played six years for

. Taj's fans called him ''Barbed Wire''. Eskandarian was a member of the Iranian team winning the Asia Cup 1976 in Tehran and reaching the quarterfinals of the Olympic Tournament in Montreal in 1976. He also played for

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in the

1978 World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by ...

, the country's first appearance in the tournament. He infamously was the first member of Iran's team to score in the World Cup: an own-goal in a match against Scotland that his teammate later tied, 1-1.Report
FIFA.com, accessed 15 June 2018.
''The New York Times'', 27 May 1983, accessed 15 June 2018. The game was still considered a success for Iran, including Eskandarian's play as a defender against

Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic F.C., Celtic and 515 for Liverpoo ...

and

Joe Jordan Joseph Jordan (born 15 December 1951) is a Scottish football player, coach and manager. He is currently a first-team coach at AFC Bournemouth. A former striker, he played for Leeds United, Manchester United, and Milan, among others at club ...

, and an embarrassment for Scotland.James Montague
World Cup 2014: Iran legend Andranik Eskandarian was a prime architect of Scotland's 1978 humiliation
''The Telegraph'', 21 June 2014, accessed 15 June 2018. Soon after that, he moved to America to play for the highest-profile team in the country, the

, beginning in the 1979 season. After the Cosmos folded in 1984, Eskandarian played for the

New York Express The New York Express was a soccer team based out of Uniondale, New York that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played only part of the 1986–87 MISL season before folding during the league's midseason All-Star Break. Their home are ...

during its half-season in the Major Indoor Soccer League. From 1989 through 1990, he played for the

New Jersey Eagles The New Jersey Eagles were an American soccer team founded in 1987 as the Cosmopolitan Eagles. In 1988, they entered the third American Soccer League as the New Jersey Eagles. They folded following the 1990 American Professional Soccer League s ...

of the American Soccer League.

Personal

Andranik Eskandarian was born on 31 December 1951 in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

in an

family. He is the father of former

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

player

Alecko Eskandarian Alecko Eskandarian (born July 9, 1982) is an iranian American retired soccer player,He is the son of Andranik Eskandrian, a former player of the Iranian national team and the Esteghlal team . He is a former assistant coach for New York Cosmos ...

. Eskandarian became a United States citizen in 1984 and now owns and operates two sporting goods stores in New Jersey.Backline:Eski: 'We brought soccer to this country'
by Will Kuhns for Soccer America 30 April 2001

Honours

Club

;Taj *

Iranian Football League The Iranian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for football clubs in Iran. Structure The current structure has been in place since 2001. The Persian Gulf Pro League (PGL) is the highest level of club football in Iran. I ...

: 1974–75 *

: 1976–77 ;New York Cosmos *

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

National

;Iran *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

References

External links

NASL career stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eskandarian, Andranik 1951 births Living people American Professional Soccer League players American soccer players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Association football defenders Esteghlal F.C. players Ethnic Armenian sportspeople Expatriate soccer players in the United States Iran international footballers Iranian expatriate footballers Iranian footballers Iranian emigrants to the United States Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players New Jersey Eagles players New York Cosmos players New York Cosmos (MISL) players New York Express players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Sportspeople from Tehran Iranian people of Armenian descent American sportspeople of Armenian descent Olympic footballers of Iran 1976 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 1976 Summer Olympics 1978 FIFA World Cup players AFC Asian Cup-winning players F.C. Ararat Tehran players